Turkey begins TV-based distance learning for school students due to pandemic

ANKARA

Turkey on March 23 launched TV-based distance learning for around 18 million primary, secondary and high-school students, with Education Minister Ziya Selçuk giving the first lecture as he advised families to create the necessary conditions for their children at home.

Distance learning will be aired through three channels provided by the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and Education Informatics Network (EBA). The TRT-EBA TV will air school lessons for the primary, secondary and high school students through separate channels, which will be supported by the digital EBA system.

“There may be difficulties in the first two-three days, but I am sure that the process will be run healthily all together,” Selçuk told the families and the students in the first lecture. “We are taking consideration of all sorts of scenarios while running this process and we are producing solutions accordingly. We have alternative solutions for any scenario we may face,” he said.

The families should turn their houses into a classroom and create conditions so that their children can benefit from distance learning, the minister advised.

Turkey had decided to shut down all the schools for a week and to launch distance education starting from March 23, after the first coronavirus case was detected. Likewise, universities are also set to launch online education for the students.

“I would have liked to write about these days and leave a note in history,” Selçuk said, adding: “Don’t think about who would read it. I look forward to reading about these days from your hands in the form of plays, poems or short stories. Please write.”

Depending on the grade and student, a variety of lessons such as Turkish, math, social and physical sciences, English, biology, and geography will be aired for 20 minutes each, one after the other. Students will also be able to watch the lessons later in the evening, and they will also be available on the EBA website.